Alex Smith in Free Agency

Originally posted by Otter:
This has been tried before and has failed, but I'm feeling masochistic.

This thread is to discuss his strengths and weaknesses, and where he might sign as a free agent. Where do you think he'll sign, where do you hope he signs, best/worst situations, etc. Best/Worst situation may include how he fits under Harbaugh and the 49ers.

He is not under contract with the Forty-Niners, he is effectively unemployed, this thread is not for complaining about it being here vs Niner Talk. His status is no different than Jenkins or Asomugha.

Referring to other members as Alex Haters and Alex Lovers can be construed as a personal attack and could result in a warning. Repeated posting of the same comment can be construed as spamming and could result in a warning. Continually bringing him up in threads that have nothing to do with him, while this thread is open, can also be construed as spamming or inciting and could result in a warning.

Now....go!

Why??? My god, now you have done it......

First the PSN is down; now an authorized Alex Smith thread?!?!?!?!


We're all doomed. Doomed....

Edit: Thank you for attempting this thread! We should be able to have a civil disccussion on this topic and I hope it works out that way.

A Smith has some ability and he has some weak areas. Many posters point to plays that are terrible as if they are standard with him. That is not being objective as others can point to good plays and use them as his standard.

I would like to see if Harbaugh could turn Smith's career around for two reasons: he has talent and don't want him going to Arizona to come back and haunt the 9ers.

Positives:
Stoic--shows courage and plays while injured
Runs--can run for a first down with apparent ease
Accuracy--even though many claim he is not accurate coaches see this as a strength
Team Oriented--both VD and Gore came to his defense (as did P Willis) against Singletary

Negatives:
Production--has not been consistent (whatever the reason)
Personality--stoicism does not always look like leadership, not fiery
Touch--does not throw a soft ball on short routes
Sync--not on the same page with WR

The lists could be much longer but I will stop there. Of the negatives, touch is my main concern. He often throws the screen passes too hard or with too much loft. This can be taught but you would think a guy would have learned this by now.

Why I want him back:
P Willis made a point of giving Smith some positive comments and support after games, particularly after Singletary was fired. VD and Gore realized that Smith was a quiet unassuming guy and urged him to take Singletary on when he was benched. Smith finally did so in a very direct but calm manner...which fits with his personality. Edit: He has fire, but is introverted and does not express it often.

Main reason--you should get rid of a player when you replace him with a better player and Carr/TSmith are not it. If a player is not a problem, trouble maker, then keep him around until he is no longer needed.

Alex Smith = Kyle Boller

Originally posted by GEEK:
Alex Smith = Kyle Boller

Hmm...I've never seen them together, so you may be right.

Okay, I'm NOT a Smith fan, many of you know that. You know that when a thread starts that way somebody is about to endorse Smith, not me. I did however have a thought while reading the piece about Ted Tollner.

Tollner felt that Alex made good decisions with the football (captain check down), now I don't want to give fuel to fanboys... but.... If Alex is making good decisions in a bad offense, say one with ridiculously bad check downs, or poorly planned passing adjustments, it would stand to reason that in a well designed offense with solid check down options and good route adjustments, he would do well.

Please talk me down... I am on the edge of the Alex Smith abyss!

80sbaby misunderstood the point I was making about the "fans." Alex is no "p**sy" as 80s called him. Alex is far from that. What I meant is that people often lose their desire to produce for those who do not appreciate him. Just like you would want to leave an employer who insults you constantly. It was only speculation on my part as to the reason why Alex may want to play somewhere else.

he should go to detroit to chill on the bench with shaun hill

Originally posted by excelsior:
80sbaby misunderstood the point I was making about the "fans." Alex is no "p**sy" as 80s called him. Alex is far from that. What I meant is that people often lose their desire to produce for those who do not appreciate him. Just like you would want to leave an employer who insults you constantly. It was only speculation on my part as to the reason why Alex may want to play somewhere else.

Didnt misunderstand your point at all. And I NEVER called Alex a p***y...you are putting words in my mouth. But if your speculation about Alex potentially losing his desire to produce for fans who dont appreciate him is true, then he IS a p***y. I dont see how you dont understand this. A true competitor does everything he can to try to prove his doubters wrong. They dont say "these guys dont appreciate me, so I dont care if I produce or not. Im gonna leave." That is a p***y move any way you shake it.

And your analogy about the workplace is silly. Would I want to work for an employer who insulted me constantly? Probably not. But if I worked there for 6 years and rarely produced for my company, the insults would not only be justified, but I would have been replaced long ago (This replacement would apply to every other job in the world, including 31 other NFL teams).

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by GEEK:
Alex Smith = Kyle Boller

Hmm...I've never seen them together, so you may be right.

Alex Bust needs to go away forever. He has done nothing for this team but lose. I'm sick of seeing quality players like Gore, VD, and Willis waste valuable years of their careers getting no where with sh*tty QB play. Alex Smith sucks donkey balls.

Originally posted by solidg2000:
The reason we've lost isn't because of Alex Smith. It's because of conservative p***y defensive coaches. Neither Nolan nor Singletary had the balls to run a real offense! Both wanted to play defense and win by a FG! I want a coach who wants to kill every opponent and win by 21!! Like Steve Young said last year, the problem with the 49ers is Singletarys insistence in having a hand in the offense. If he woul of let his coaches coach and call their game, we would of been in the playoffs.

That's the reason all those OCs turned down the job. Because they knew Singletary wasn't going to allow creativity or play calling freedom

It's kinda hard to play quality defense when your QB goes 3 and out for most of the game and cant put up more than 10 points a game.

Originally posted by bigmike55:
Alex Bust needs to go away forever. He has done nothing for this team but lose. I'm sick of seeing quality players like Gore, VD, and Willis waste valuable years of their careers getting no where with sh*tty QB play. Alex Smith sucks donkey balls.

It would be nice to hear a comment that is specific to football. The closest you've come is donkey basketball.

I think his best option would be to sit behind an old vet for a couple years. Like Manning, Brady, Hasslebeck, mabye a brees who is starting to get up there. If he wants to start he should go to a digit system.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by bigmike55:
Alex Bust needs to go away forever. He has done nothing for this team but lose. I'm sick of seeing quality players like Gore, VD, and Willis waste valuable years of their careers getting no where with sh*tty QB play. Alex Smith sucks donkey balls.

It would be nice to hear a comment that is specific to football. The closest you've come is donkey basketball.

alex doesnt play football he just pretends to.

His best option would be to go and be a backup behind a proven veteren qb (Brady, Rivers, Manning, Rodgers). That way he can sit and learn how to play the position as well as learn from a proven offensive coordinator. His chances of being "the guy" that teams count on are probably over. He just needs to go settle in as a backup somewhere and maybe he gets a chance to get lucky and be a starter again.